Though it came in totally under the radar for some folks, the last Marvel movie of 2018 is officially out this weekend—Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! No, it’s not part of the MCU—but believe it or not, it just might be as good as any MCU movie this year! And to celebrate the film’s launch, I’ve got a Review for a figure I’ve been holding off on for just this occasion. It’s the final BAF I hadn’t reviewed yet from 2018: Marvel Legends SP//DR Build-A-Figure! You can get SP//DR for 40 bucks completed on ebay–is it worth it?

If you’re not familiar with Peni Parker, the “Spider-Man” (of a sort) of Earth-14512, you don’t have to give up your Spidey fanboy card. When I saw the SP//DR BAF unveiled at New York Toy Fair 2018 in February, I had a hard time remembering who the figure was myself—and I’d read every appearance of the character to-date!

Basically, on an alternate Earth, Peni Parker inherits her father’s EVA-like robot SP//DR armor and uses it to fight villainy. The character was created for Spider-Verse in 2014, with a version of SP//DR also appearing in the new Into The Spider-Verse movie.

You can either buy ML SP//DR for about 40 bucks on the aftermarket or get him “free” by buying the entirety of his Spider-Man Legends Series to get all the parts.

The first thing you’ll notice upon assembling the Spider-Man Legends SP//DR figure is that it’s frickin’ tall. As in, about 9” tall! Hasbro hasn’t exaggerated the size of this mech just to make it impressive, though: the SP//DR suit stands 9 feet fall in the comics, so the scale on this figure is totally authentic to the source material.

Having SP//DR on a shelf filled with 6” Spider-Man figures (and a little Spider-Ham) adds some refreshing scale and diversity to the shelf, really breaking up the monotony of the lineup. An inspired choice by Hasbro, and also an expensive one, as this is a 100% new tool unless I’m missing some obvious reuse on this mold somewhere.

When you’re looking at this figure, there’s absolutely no doubt that you’re seeing a robot and not something organic. Telltale dents, rivets, wires and angular shapes cover the SP//DR suit. And while there’s little to no paint wash on the figure, the colors and paint deco that are present really pop and give a distinct inhuman feel.

The one area where the SP//DR Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure disappoints is the articulation scheme. On the one hand, there are lots of points of articulation that delight, allowing SPDR to spread out into a deep lunge and other poses difficult for standard ML 6” figures to achieve.

On the other hand, there’s no articulation at all at the forearm, thighs or calves, the foot claws are only on a single hinge, and the shoulders are on a sort of weird ball-swivel that gives minimal range of motion. There are some cool things you can do with this SP//DR BAF to be sure, but I imagine many collectors will be very frustrated by standard points of articulation that aren’t present.

Overall: A refreshingly fun, unique and different Build-A-Figure, SP//DR is a real eye-grabber on a shelf and adds a new element to any Spider-Verse display. The nod to Neon Genesis Evangelion is instantly apparent to any otaku, and the size really makes this suit stand out.

The limited articulation on the feet and arms is a real drawback for posing, but Marvel Legends SP//DR is a cool toy that fills a hole in the Spider-Verse I never expected to see in ML form. Not perfect, but definitely a solid release for any fan of the Spider-Verse comics.

GRADE: B

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